Christine's Color Connection
A newsletter for quilters in love with colorApril 2011
In This Issue 
Welcome to the second issue of Christine's Color Connection! This month features the story behind my fabric color wheel, "Color Cues," a series of tips for working with color in quilts, and my "Workshop Schedule." 

Note: the quilt above is a fragment of my quilt "Earthscape." You can see the full image on my site, christinebarnes.com, or in my book.


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Creating a Fabric Color Wheel

If you've taken one of my color workshops or heard me speak, you know that I'm a huge fan of the color wheel. It's an awesome tool for quilters!

 

Below is the color wheel that appears in The Quilter's Color Club.I use the Prang color wheel with its twelve colors because it's easy to grasp the relationships of the colors, and most of the color names, like blue-green, are familiar to us all. It took lots of shopping to find just-right fabrics in light, medium, and dark values (we can't "mix" our fabrics the way a painter mixes pigments) but oh, the hunt was fun! 

 

A local business that cuts hot air balloons and sails cut the fabric wedges and the spider-web mat. As you can see in the in-progress image below, the wedges butt up against each other when they are fused to a muslin foundation, but when the mat is placed on top, like magic the colors and shapes become crisp and clear. I've had many requests for a color-wheel workshop, and my plan is to have multiple mats cut, and add it to my class list. Stay tuned!

 

Here's the wheel on my ironing board, being fused.

 

                

 

And here's how the finished color wheel looks. The mat works wonders!

 

       

 

 

To learn more about the color wheel, check out my book:

 

        cover final, small

The Quilter's Color Club includes an in-depth look at the color wheel, with ten blocks made using different combos, each accompanied by a mini color wheel that shows, at a glance, the relationships of the colors. I also offer a separate color wheel printed on archival paper, with a four-page brochure; see my website for details.

 

Color Cues 

                                 

 

Now that you've seen the color wheel, consider the possibilities:

 

This King's Crown block features a combination known as a triad; that is, three colors spaced equally around the color wheel. Here the colors are yellow-orange (a color I call mango,) red-violet (magenta is another name), and blue-green (teal is the most common name). There are bits of other colors in the block (a truer blue in the corner squares, greens in the center) and they make an important point about color-wheel combos: they are not set in stone! You're free to wander around the color wheel to make you classic combination more interesting.

 

There are different ways to approach using the color wheel. I view it as a means to getting unstuck when a color plan isn't working. In the block here, you might have started with teal and magenta but wondered what else to add. A glance at the color wheel tells you that yellow-orange would balance the first two hues beautifully.

 

Other factors come into play when you're using a color wheel, and I'll get into those in the coming months. In the meantime, take the time to "tour" the color wheel and explore the combinations. Some very famous quilters have told me they use it, too!


New Workshop

 

On June 25 and 26, I'll be teaching a two-day workshop on "Transparency" at Sugar Pine Quilt Shop in Grass Valley. In transparency, one color appears to lie over another, and where the two colors overlap, a third is formed. The workshop starts with a crash course in color on the first day, then students make three simple mock-blocks, followed by two more challenging ones. On the second day, everyone begins a quilt using one of two patterns.

 

Here's a cropped image of my quilt "Galaxy," from The Quilter's Color Club. These asymmetrical Ninepatch blocks illustrate transparencies of value, color, and pattern.

 

For more info, e-mail me through my site, christinebarnes.com

 

                      


Lecture and Workshop Schedule  

 

Note: You can often attend guild meetings and take their workshops if you aren't a member. If you're interested in any of these lecture or classes, let me know, and I'll put you in touch with the guild.

 

2011

April 9, Rocklin, CA, "Color Camp" workshop, Meissner Sewing Center

 

April 16, Stockton, CA, "Crossover Collage Vest" workshop, Haute Societe Wearable Art Group

 

April 27 & 30, Yuba City, CA, "Magic Fabrics, Special Effects" lecture, "Luminosity" workshop, Valley Quilt Guild

 

May 5 & 7, Chico, CA, "Color!" lecture, "Color Camp" workshop, Annie's Star Quilt Guild

 

May 18 & 21, Sebastopol, CA, "Magic Fabrics, Special Effects" lecture, "Transparency" workshop, Moonlight Quilters of Sonoma County

 

June 11 & 12, Lakeport, CA, "Color!" lecture, "Color Camp" workshop, Ladies of the Lake Quilt Guild

 

June 15 & 18, Danville, CA, "Magic Fabrics, Special Effects" lecture, "Luminosity" workshop, Diablo Valley Quilters

 

July 20, Pleasant Hill, CA, "Meet the Teachers" presentation, Northern California Quilt Council, www.ncqc.net

 

June 25 & 26, Grass Valley, CA, "Exploring Transparency: A Two-Day Workshop," Sugar Pine Quilt Shop

 

August 29 & 30, Loomis, CA,  "Magic Fabrics, Special Effects" lecture, "Luminosity" workshop, Pioneer Quilters Guild

 

October 11 & 12, Modesto, CA, "Magic Fabrics, Special Effects" lecture, "Luminosity" workshop, Country Crossroads Quilters

 

November 2, Ukiah, CA, "Magic Fabrics, Special Effects" lecture, Grapevine Quilter's Guild

 

November 14 & 15, San Luis Obispo, CA, "Color!" lecture, "Color Camp" workshop, San Luis Obispo Quilters Guild

 

 

2012

February 14 & 15, Auburn, CA, "Magic Fabrics, Special Effects" lecture, "Black Opals" workshop, Foothill Quilters Guild

 

April 22 & 24, Arroyo Grande, CA, "Magic Fabrics, Special Effects" lecture, workshop TBD, Central Coast Quilters

 

May 14 & 15, Auburn, CA, "Magic Fabrics, Special Effects" lecture, "Black Opals & Ribbon Candy" workshop, Foothill Quilters Guild

 

July 19 & 20, Santa Rosa, CA, lecture, workshop TBD, Santa Rosa Quilt Guild 

 

 


Coming in the Next Issue. . .   

"Magic Fabrics" give a quilt life and light. Next month, I'll explain what makes a fabric "magical" and how you can learn to shop for them. (You probably have some in your stash right now.) Examples of fabrics and quilts illustrate the concept. Your next quilt can be your best!

 

If you've received this newsletter, you probably attended one of my workshops or bought one of my books, patterns, or color wheels. It's easy to opt out, below, but I hope you'll stick around to see what's in store. It's all about color, using it, enjoying it, and sharing it with other quilters!

 

Thank-you! 

 

Contact Info

Christine Barnes

cebarnes@sbcglobal.net
www.christinebarnes.com